Lonely
by RaydorCakes
Summary: Tag to 1x13; explains why Jessica appears to be leaving the wedding with Malcolm, but isn’t seen once Malcolm makes it outside. One shot, JessicaxGil


A/N: This is my first Prodigal Son fic, so please leave me some feedback!

Set after 1x13, and explains why Jessica is walking out of the wedding with Malcolm, but we don't see her outside a moment later.

Jessica x Gil, one shot.

~oOo~

Gil catches Jessica's eyes as she approaches the exit of the venue, Malcom by her side. A small smile tugs at the corner of his lips upon seeing the two of them, grateful to find Malcolm in one piece.

"Good job, Bright." Gil reaches out and shakes the young man's hand, Jessica beaming as she looks to her son.

"My boy is a hero." Jessica smiles as she reaches out and squeezes Gil's arm.

"It's not the first time." Gil returns, Malcolm quietly excusing himself from the awkward interaction. "You look lovely." He adds once Malcolm is out of earshot, and he notices the way blush starts to creep across Jessica's pale cheeks.

"Gil Arroyo, always with the flattery." Jessica laughs before turning and stepping away from Gil and making her way across the large room.

Despite the earlier commotion the reception had continued, no traces of the attempted assassination lingering aside from a tense air.

Music starts to fill the hall, classical piano, and once Gil catches up to Jessica she turns and extends her hand to him. "Care to dance?"

Another small smile tugs at Gil's lips before he places his hand in Jessica's and wraps his other around her waist.

"So even a police escort couldn't get my son to the airport?" Jessica questions softly as she looks to Gil, hoping for some kind of explanation.

He lets out a deep breath before explaining, sparing only the barest of details. "We drove past a scene on the way, Malcolm promised we'd be in and out and straight to the airport. I underestimated how obsessive he could be; it was not in and out." Gil lets out a small laugh and tightens his grip on Jessica's waist, pulling her closer. Surprise streaks across her face for only a moment before being replaced with another smile, this one brighter than the last.

"Are he and Detective Powell an item?" Jessica questions as she and Gil continue to dance. The question had been front and centre in her mind since she'd seen the two of them together. She assumed Gil would know if they were.

"I'm not sure." He admits with a shrug as he leans into Jessica, their foreheads resting together, far more intimate, and yet comfortable, than they had ever been. "Dani's good for him, I'm just not sure that a relationship is what either of them need right now."

"It doesn't have to be a relationship." Jessica pulls back from Gil just in time to catch the flabbergasted look on his face. "He just needs to burn off some steam." There's a devious twinkle in her eye as she looks to Gil, distress still etched on his features.

"Jess," he shakes his head and glances down at the floor, the marble obscured by their bodies, still pressed together, green and brown, like a seedling taking hold of the earth. "Jess, I didn't need that visual."

"I'm just saying, someone to come home to could be good for him. Living in that big loft, all alone." Jessica explains, and when she meets Gil's gaze his features are soft, gentle, like they had been the day he'd told her of Malcolm's kidnapping.

"And what about you?" Gil leans in, his lips by Jessica's ear, his moustache tickling her skin and his breath hot as it sends a shiver down her spine, shocking both of them as they continue to dance. "Living in that big house, all alone?"

Gil regrets his question almost instantly. Who was he to assume that Jessica Whitly was lonely, that she would even want his company? What did he want her to say, anyway?

Jessica wants to kiss him. It's the first coherent thought she recognises when she meets Gil's eyes, nervousness evident on his features.

She'd spent plenty of nights alone in that house. She'd spent plenty of nights thinking about Martin, how he had ruined her life, how she felt shackled to the many ghosts that haunted the house where their lives had been taken.

She'd felt lonely more often than she'd cared to admit. She was busy, anyway, obsessing over Malcolm and Ainsley, making sure they were as well as they could be, all things considered. Malcolm alone took up so much of her time that she never truly thought about what she needed.

What she did know, however; was that since Malcolm started consulting for the NYPD, Gil had always been looming overhead, protecting and shielding her from most of Malcolm's many hairbrained schemes. Gil could hold her like he was now, bodies flush, hands placed intimately, foreheads pressed together; Gil could calm her with nothing more than a hug or a reassuring squeeze to her shoulder; Gil felt safe.

Jessica Whitly hadn't felt this safe since Martin, and that thought terrifies her. Maybe, though, she could feel safe without all the heartache Martin had brought her.

Jessica looks to Gil once more, nervousness still evident on his features. He wasn't sure what he was asking, but he had to ask. He'd cared about Jess far too deeply for far too long to push it under the rug, especially when she was close enough that he could feel the warmth emanating from her skin, smell the perfume that clung to her like fog after heavy rain.

To Gil's surprise, Jessica leans in and presses a kiss to his cheek, a gesture they had exchanged so many times it was practically commonplace. Despite his better judgement, Gil leans in and kisses Jessica, pulling her into him as their lips crash together. He wants to savour the moment, the day he finally bucked up to kiss her, but when Jessica pulls away from him, his hopes are shattered in an instant.

Jessica looks to him, and she can see the sadness on his face. "Gil." He meets her eyes, embarrassment evident, waiting for her to scold him. Instead, Jess adds, "Let's get out of here." Jessica steps always from him, but clasps his hand with her own, refusing to let go. That was a statement in and of itself. "Come on."

When Gil doesn't immediately budge she looks to him, bats her eyelashes, and gently tugs on his hand. Gil lets out a deep breath before following after her.

What had he gotten himself into?

As they leave the venue and head for the parking lot, Jessica takes note of the people whispering around her, throwing glances of disapproval in her direction. She doesn't care, though; she'd been involved in far more controversial things than leaving an event with one of New York's Finest.

"New car?" Jess questions as she and Gil approach a gold '67 Nova. "I thought you'd never part with the LeMans."

Gil throws her a crooked glance as he opens the passenger door for her, still mourning the loss of the LeMans. "It's in the shop, I should have it back soon, I hope. In the meantime, though, I pulled this baby out of impound." He explains, sparing the specifics of how his prized car had saved her son's life.

"Oh, I do hope you get your car back soon." Jessica laughs as Gil rounds to the drivers side of the car and starts it, the engine rumbling. "This one doesn't sell your 'mystery macho man'" she says in a dramatic voice, "story nearly as well."

Gil chuckles, a real laugh, and it takes Jessica by surprise. It felt like ages since either of them had truly laughed.

"So, where are we going?" He looks to Jess and taps his left hand on the steering wheel, the fingers on his right hand drumming anxiously on the shifter.

When Jessica reaches out and places her hand atop his the drumming stops, a bright smile pulling at her lips as their eyes meet.

"You said it yourself," she breathes, their eyes still focused on one another. "I'm too lonely in that big, empty, house. Take me home, keep me company." Jessica elaborates, one eyebrow raised daringly as she leans in and presses a kiss to Gil's cheek.

Another small smile tugs at Gil's lips as he shifts the car into drive and starts towards the Whitly residence, Jessica's fingers still threaded through his.

Gil isn't sure what the future will bring, not for himself and Jessica, their troublemaker Malcolm, or evening Ainsley and Martin. There was one thing he knew, however; that as long as he had Jessica by his side, he thought, just maybe, things would be all right.-


End file.
